Zee Media Bureau


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New Delhi: A week after it went into sales in India, Apple's latest offering, the iPhone SE seems to be getting a muted response from fans and consumers.


Earlier in March, the company launched the iPhone SE at Cupertino, California with India and China as the main target – its biggest market outside the US – and said it would be the cheapest iPhone ever at Rs 39,000.


However, the sales of the 4-inch iPhone seem to have got a muted response after it hit the market on April 8.


 


Let's take a look at why the iPhone SE sales in India might have failed.


PRICE: Apple states the iPhone SE is the cheapest iPhone ever at USD 399 which converts to around Rs 25,000. However, the 4-inch iPhone has been priced at Rs 39,000 in India which appears to be high considering that there are numbers of high-end smartphones with a price tag around Rs 20,000.


Moreover, iPhone 6, 16GB variant is available for about Rs 32,000 while 16GB variant of iPhone 6s is also available for just about Rs 40,000.


 


SCREEN SIZE: With focus on India, size is a serious matter considering the huge success of 5-inch and 5.5-inch screen smartphones in the market; and that is where Apple failed to get it. Though Apple claimed that 4-inch iPhones were its highest selling devices, India seem to differ.


Moreover, the social media jokes on the size of the new iPhone SE is a proof that Apple might have got it wrong this time.


BATTERY LIFE: A 1642 mAh battery appears to be rather small for a smartphone and a price tag of Rs 39,000 considering that many phones would give above 2,500 mAh battery power in that price range.


However, reports on the life of iPhone SE battery have varied with a day's life to a little over a day's life on normal to heavy usage.


 


MEMORY: This area is where Apple has been making mistakes. 16GB storage capacity for Rs 39,000 with not expanding option. Besides of the 16GB, just about 11GB is available for users. So, with such fine camera and 4K video recording, where are you gonna store it?


Probably, it is due to the failure of sales that Apple is now offering the iPhone SE along with iPhone 6 and iPhone on lease for a monthly rental of Rs 999 onwards.